Methods for transitioning between autonomous driving modes in large vehicles

ABSTRACT

The technology relates to assisting large self-driving vehicles, such as cargo vehicles, as they maneuver towards and/or park at a destination facility. This may include a given vehicle transitioning between different autonomous driving modes. Such a vehicles may be permitted to drive in a fully autonomous mode on certain roadways for the majority of a trip, but may need to change to a partially autonomous mode on other roadways or when entering or leaving a destination facility such as a warehouse, depot or service center. Large vehicles such as cargo truck may have limited room to maneuver in and park at the destination, which may also prevent operation in a fully autonomous mode. Here, information from the destination facility and/or a remote assistance service can be employed to aid in real-time semi-autonomous maneuvering.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/879,571, filed Jul. 29, 2019, the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Thisapplication is related to U.S. application Ser. No. ______, entitledMethod for Performing a Vehicle Assist Operation, filed concurrentlyherewith, attorney docket No. XSDV 3.0E-2119 II [9217], the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Autonomous vehicles, such as vehicles that do not require a humandriver, can be used to aid in the transport of trailered (e.g., towed)cargo, such as consumer goods, equipment, livestock or other items fromone location to another. Such vehicles may operate in a fully autonomousmode or a partially autonomous mode where a person may provide somedriving input. There may be situations where a cargo truck or otherlarge vehicle is permitted to operate fully autonomously for part of aroute, such as a freeway, but is not permitted to operate in that modefor another part of the route, such as surface streets near a warehouseor depot. In addition, once the vehicle arrives at the warehouse ordepot, tight maneuvering may be required with limited sight lines. Manyvehicles may not be equipped with sensors sufficient to enable them toreverse or otherwise maneuver into a warehouse dock or other parkinglocation in an autonomous driving mode. In such situations, changingdriving modes and potentially having to bring in a human driver couldintroduce significant logistical complexities for getting the cargo toits destination timely and effectively.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The technology relates to maneuvering self-driving cargo trucks andother vehicles from main thoroughfares (e.g., freeways) to warehouses,service centers, delivery locations and other facilities. One aspectinvolves situations where the vehicle is not cleared or otherwisepermitted to operate fully autonomously on surface streets. Here, atruck may transition from purely autonomously driving (e.g., level 5autonomy) to an autonomous “follow” mode, in which the truck drivesbehind a lead vehicle while performing mimicking or similar drivingoperations as the lead vehicle. Another aspect involves how theself-driving vehicle maneuvers and parks at a depot or otherdestination, without requiring the vehicle to have sensors installed onthe trailer(s) or other parts of the vehicle. Both of these aspects arediscussed in detail below.

According to one aspect of the technology, a vehicle configured tooperate in an autonomous driving mode is provided. The vehicle includesa driving system including a steering subsystem, an accelerationsubsystem and a deceleration subsystem to control driving of the vehiclein the autonomous driving mode. It also includes a perception systemwith one or more sensors configured to detect objects in an environmentexternal to the vehicle and a communication system configured to providewireless connectivity with one or more remote devices. The vehiclefurther includes a control system with one or more processors. Thecontrol system is operatively coupled to the driving system, thecommunication system and the perception system, and is configured toidentify a lead vehicle to follow, authenticate the lead vehicle, begina following operation by controlling the driving system in accordancewith detected or received information about the lead vehicle, detect asignal from the lead vehicle about an upcoming driving maneuver, andcontrol the driving system based on the detected signal and informationreceived by the perception system. Detection of the signal may beperformed by the perception system of the vehicle.

In one example, the control system is further configured to takecorrective action upon detection by the perception system of anintervening object between the vehicle and the lead vehicle. Thecorrective action may include either pulling over or increasing afollowing distance with the lead vehicle. Alternatively or in addition,the corrective action may include requesting that the lead vehicle pullover.

In another example, the control system is further configured totransition from a fully autonomous driving mode to a following mode inorder to perform the following operation.

Identification of the lead vehicle may include the control systemreceiving a request from a remote system to search for the lead vehicle.Here, the received request may include information identifying the leadvehicle.

In a further example, the control system is configured to authenticatethe lead vehicle at a prearranged location along a route, at a selectedtime, when the lead vehicle is within line of sight to the vehicle orwhen the lead vehicle is within a predetermined distance of the vehicle.

According to another aspects of the technology, a vehicle is providedthat includes a driving system having a steering subsystem, anacceleration subsystem and a deceleration subsystem to control drivingof the vehicle. This vehicle also includes a perception system includingone or more sensors configured to detect objects in an environmentexternal to the vehicle and a communication system configured to providewireless connectivity with one or more remote devices. A control systemof the vehicle includes one or more processors and is control systemoperatively coupled to the driving system, the communication system andthe perception system. The control system is configured to obtain adestination for another vehicle, begin a leading operation bycontrolling the driving system to proceed toward the destination along aroute, generate a signal about an upcoming driving maneuver, and emitthe generated signal for perception by one or more sensors of the othervehicle.

In one example, the control system is further configured to perform aclearing operation to clear a section of the route for safe passage ofboth the vehicle and the other vehicle. Here, the control system may befurther configured to determine that the other vehicle is able toperform the upcoming driving maneuver within a determined amount oftime.

In another example, the leading operation is performed in an autonomousdriving mode. In a further example, the leading operation is performedupon receipt of a control signal from a remote system. In yet anotherexample, the control system is able to perform an authenticationoperation with the other vehicle. In this case, the control system maybe configured to send a request to a remote server for the other vehicleto enter a search for leader process.

In a further example, prior to generation of the signal about theupcoming driving maneuver, the control system is configured to obtainreal-time state information about the other vehicle. In another example,prior to generation of the signal about the upcoming driving maneuver,the control system is configured to obtain a roadgraph for a section ofroadway along the route. In yet another example, the control system isconfigured to use the perception system to handle perception operationsassociated with the other vehicle during the leading operation. And thecontrol system may be configured to receive perception data from theother vehicle during the leading operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-B illustrates an example cargo vehicle arrangement for use withaspects of the technology.

FIG. 1C illustrates an example passenger vehicle arrangement for usewith aspects of the technology.

FIGS. 2A-B are functional diagrams of an example tractor-trailer vehiclein accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a function diagram of an example passenger vehicle inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 4A-B illustrate example sensor fields of view for use with aspectsof the technology.

FIGS. 5A-B illustrate an example lead-follow driving scenario inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 6A-C illustrate driving scenarios with an intervening vehicle inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 7A-D illustrate exemplary vehicle to vehicle communicationscenarios in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 8A-B illustrate exemplary large vehicle parking scenarios inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 9A-B illustrate an example system in accordance with aspects ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 10A illustrates a first example lead-follow method in accordancewith aspects of the technology.

FIG. 10B illustrates a second example lead-follow method in accordancewith aspects of the technology.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example parking assistance method in accordancewith aspects of the technology.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The technology involves maneuvering self-driving vehicles todestinations in situations that require transitioning between differentautonomous driving modes. Cargo trucks or other large vehicles may beable to drive fully autonomously on highways for the majority of a trip,but local regulations, road configurations or other factors may notpermit this driving mode on surface streets or when entering or leavinga warehouse, depot or other destinations. Similarly, such vehicles maynot easily be able to maneuver in and park at the destination in a fullyautonomous mode using just onboard sensors.

In order to address these situations, one aspect includes transitioningthe vehicle from purely autonomously driving (e.g., level 5 autonomy) toan autonomous “follow” mode, in which the self-driving vehicle drivesbehind a lead vehicle while performing mimicking or similar drivingoperations as the lead vehicle. A second aspect involves supporting theself-driving vehicle to maneuver and park at a depot or other facilitywithout requiring the vehicle to have sensors installed on thetrailer(s) or other portions of the vehicle.

Example Vehicle Systems

FIGS. 1A-B illustrate an example cargo vehicle 100, such as atractor-trailer truck, and FIG. 1C illustrates an example passengervehicle 150, such as a minivan. The cargo vehicle 100 may include, e.g.,a single, double or triple trailer, or may be another medium or heavyduty truck such as in commercial weight classes 4 through 8. As shown,the truck includes a tractor unit 102 and a single cargo unit or trailer104. The trailer 104 may be fully enclosed, open such as a flat bed, orpartially open depending on the freight or other type of cargo (e.g.,livestock) to be transported. The tractor unit 102 includes the engineand steering systems (not shown) and a cab 106 for a driver and anypassengers. In a fully autonomous arrangement, the cab 106 may not beequipped with seats or manual driving components, since no person may benecessary.

The trailer 104 includes a hitching point, known as a kingpin 108. Thekingpin 108 is configured to pivotally attach to the tractor unit. Inparticular, the kingpin attaches to a trailer coupling 109, known as afifth-wheel, that is mounted rearward of the cab. Sensor units may bedeployed along the tractor unit 102 and/or the trailer 104. The sensorunits are used to detect information about the surroundings around thecargo vehicle 100. For instance, as shown the tractor unit 102 mayinclude a roof-mounted sensor assembly 110 and one or more side sensorassemblies 112, which the trailer 104 may employ one or more sensorassemblies 114, for example mounted on the left and/or right sidesthereof.

Similarly, the passenger vehicle 150 may include various sensors forobtaining information about the vehicle's external environment. Forinstance, a roof-top housing 152 may include a lidar sensor as well asvarious cameras and/or radar units. Housing 154, located at the frontend of vehicle 150, and housings 156 a, 156 b on the driver's andpassenger's sides of the vehicle may each incorporate a Lidar or othersensor. For example, housing 156 a may be located in front of thedriver's side door along a quarterpanel of the vehicle. As shown, thepassenger vehicle 150 also includes housings 158 a, 158 b for radarunits, lidar and/or cameras also located towards the rear roof portionof the vehicle. Additional lidar, radar units and/or cameras (not shown)may be located at other places along the vehicle 100. For instance,arrow 160 indicates that a sensor unit may be positioned along the readof the vehicle 150, such as on or adjacent to the bumper.

While certain aspects of the disclosure may be particularly useful inconnection with specific types of vehicles, the vehicle may be any typeof vehicle including, but not limited to, cars, trucks, motorcycles,buses, recreational vehicles, etc.

FIG. 2A illustrates a block diagram 200 with various components andsystems of a cargo vehicle, such as a truck, farm equipment orconstruction equipment, configured to operate in a fully orsemi-autonomous mode of operation. By way of example, there aredifferent degrees of autonomy that may occur for a vehicle operating ina partially or fully autonomous driving mode. The U.S. National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration and the Society of Automotive Engineershave identified different levels to indicate how much, or how little,the vehicle controls the driving. For instance, Level 0 has noautomation and the driver makes all driving-related decisions. Thelowest semi-autonomous mode, Level 1, includes some drive assistancesuch as cruise control. Level 2 has partial automation of certaindriving operations, while Level 3 involves conditional automation thatcan enable a person in the driver's seat to take control as warranted.In contrast, Level 4 is a high automation level where the vehicle isable to drive without assistance in select conditions. And Level 5 is afully autonomous mode in which the vehicle is able to drive withoutassistance in all situations. The architectures, components, systems andmethods described herein can function in any of the semi orfully-autonomous modes, e.g., Levels 1-5, which are referred to hereinas “autonomous” driving modes. Thus, reference to an autonomous drivingmode includes both partial and full autonomy.

As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 2A, the vehicle includes a controlsystem of one or more computing devices, such as computing devices 202containing one or more processors 204, memory 206 and other componentstypically present in general purpose computing devices. The controlsystem may constitute an electronic control unit (ECU) of a tractorunit. The memory 206 stores information accessible by the one or moreprocessors 204, including instructions 208 and data 210 that may beexecuted or otherwise used by the processor 204. The memory 206 may beof any type capable of storing information accessible by the processor,including a computing device-readable medium. The memory is anon-transitory medium such as a hard-drive, memory card, optical disk,solid-state, tape memory, or the like. Systems may include differentcombinations of the foregoing, whereby different portions of theinstructions and data are stored on different types of media.

The instructions 208 may be any set of instructions to be executeddirectly (such as machine code) or indirectly (such as scripts) by theprocessor. For example, the instructions may be stored as computingdevice code on the computing device-readable medium. In that regard, theterms “instructions” and “programs” may be used interchangeably herein.The instructions may be stored in object code format for directprocessing by the processor, or in any other computing device languageincluding scripts or collections of independent source code modules thatare interpreted on demand or compiled in advance. The data 210 may beretrieved, stored or modified by one or more processors 204 inaccordance with the instructions 208. In one example, some or all of thememory 206 may be an event data recorder or other secure data storagesystem configured to store vehicle diagnostics and/or detected sensordata.

The one or more processor 204 may be any conventional processors, suchas commercially available CPUs. Alternatively, the one or moreprocessors may be a dedicated device such as an ASIC or otherhardware-based processor. Although FIG. 2A functionally illustrates theprocessor(s), memory, and other elements of computing devices 202 asbeing within the same block, such devices may actually include multipleprocessors, computing devices, or memories that may or may not be storedwithin the same physical housing. Similarly, the memory 206 may be ahard drive or other storage media located in a housing different fromthat of the processor(s) 204. Accordingly, references to a processor orcomputing device will be understood to include references to acollection of processors or computing devices or memories that may ormay not operate in parallel.

In one example, the computing devices 202 may form an autonomous drivingcomputing system incorporated into vehicle 100. The autonomous drivingcomputing system may capable of communicating with various components ofthe vehicle. For example, returning to FIG. 2A, the computing devices202 may be in communication with various systems of the vehicle,including a driving system including a deceleration system 212 (forcontrolling braking of the vehicle), acceleration system 214 (forcontrolling acceleration of the vehicle), steering system 216 (forcontrolling the orientation of the wheels and direction of the vehicle),signaling system 218 (for controlling turn signals), navigation system220 (for navigating the vehicle to a location or around objects) and apositioning system 222 (for determining the position of the vehicle).

The computing devices 202 are also operatively coupled to a perceptionsystem 224 (for detecting objects in the vehicle's environment), a powersystem 226 (for example, a battery and/or gas or diesel powered engine)and a transmission system 230 in order to control the movement, speed,etc., of the vehicle in accordance with the instructions 208 of memory206 in an autonomous driving mode which does not require or needcontinuous or periodic input from a passenger of the vehicle. Some orall of the wheels/tires 228 are coupled to the transmission system 230,and the computing devices 202 may be able to receive information abouttire pressure, balance and other factors that may impact driving in anautonomous mode.

The computing devices 202 may control the direction and speed of thevehicle by controlling various components. By way of example, computingdevices 202 may navigate the vehicle to a destination locationcompletely autonomously using data from the map information andnavigation system 220. Computing devices 202 may use the positioningsystem 222 to determine the vehicle's location and the perception system224 to detect and respond to objects when needed to reach the locationsafely. In order to do so, computing devices 202 may cause the vehicleto accelerate (e.g., by increasing fuel or other energy provided to theengine by acceleration system 214), decelerate (e.g., by decreasing thefuel supplied to the engine, changing gears, and/or by applying brakesby deceleration system 212), change direction (e.g., by turning thefront or other wheels of vehicle 100 by steering system 216), and signalsuch changes (e.g., by illuminating turn signals of signaling system218). Thus, the acceleration system 214 and deceleration system 212 maybe a part of a drivetrain or other transmission system 230 that includesvarious components between an engine of the vehicle and the wheels ofthe vehicle. Again, by controlling these systems, computing devices 202may also control the transmission system 230 of the vehicle in order tomaneuver the vehicle autonomously.

As an example, computing devices 202 may interact with decelerationsystem 212 and acceleration system 214 in order to control the speed ofthe vehicle. Similarly, steering system 216 may be used by computingdevices 202 in order to control the direction of vehicle. For example,if the vehicle is configured for use on a road, such as atractor-trailer truck or a construction vehicle, the steering system 216may include components to control the angle of wheels of the tractorunit 102 to turn the vehicle. Signaling system 218 may be used bycomputing devices 202 in order to signal the vehicle's intent to otherdrivers or vehicles, for example, by lighting turn signals or brakelights when needed.

Navigation system 220 may be used by computing devices 202 in order todetermine and follow a route to a location. In this regard, thenavigation system 220 and/or memory 206 may store map information, e.g.,highly detailed maps that computing devices 202 can use to navigate orcontrol the vehicle. As an example, these maps may identify the shapeand elevation of roadways, lane markers, intersections, crosswalks,speed limits, traffic signal lights, buildings, signs, real time trafficinformation, vegetation, or other such objects and information,including depot, warehouse or other facility maps. The lane markers mayinclude features such as solid or broken double or single lane lines,solid or broken lane lines, reflectors, etc. A given lane may beassociated with left and right lane lines or other lane markers thatdefine the boundary of the lane. Thus, most lanes may be bounded by aleft edge of one lane line and a right edge of another lane line.

The perception system 224 also includes sensors for detecting objectsexternal to the vehicle. The detected objects may be other vehicles,obstacles in the roadway, traffic signals, signs, trees, buildings orother structures, etc. For example, the perception system 224 mayinclude one or more light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors, sonardevices, radar units, cameras (e.g., optical and/or infrared), inertialsensors (e.g., gyroscopes or accelerometers), and/or any other detectiondevices that record data which may be processed by computing devices202. The sensors of the perception system 224 may detect objects andtheir characteristics such as location, orientation, size, shape, type(for instance, vehicle, pedestrian, bicyclist, etc.), heading, and speedof movement, etc. The raw data from the sensors and/or theaforementioned characteristics can sent for further processing to thecomputing devices 202 periodically and continuously as it is generatedby the perception system 224. Computing devices 202 may use thepositioning system 222 to determine the vehicle's location andperception system 224 to detect and respond to objects when needed toreach the location safely. In addition, the computing devices 202 mayperform calibration of individual sensors, all sensors in a particularsensor assembly, or between sensors in different sensor assemblies.

As indicated in FIG. 2A, the sensors of the perception system 224 may beincorporated into one or more sensor assemblies 232. In one example, thesensor assemblies 232 may be arranged as sensor towers integrated intothe side-view mirrors on the truck, farm equipment, constructionequipment or the like. Sensor assemblies 232 may also be positioned atdifferent locations on the tractor unit 102 or on the trailer 104 (seeFIGS. 1A-B), or along different portions of passenger vehicle 150 (seeFIG. 1C). The computing devices 202 may communicate with the sensorassemblies located on both the tractor unit 102 and the trailer 104 ordistributed along the passenger vehicle 150. Each assembly may have oneor more types of sensors such as those described above.

Also shown in FIG. 2A is a communication system 234 and a couplingsystem 236 for connectivity between the tractor unit and the trailer.The coupling system 236 includes a fifth-wheel at the tractor unit and akingpin at the trailer. The communication system 234 may include one ormore wireless network connections to facilitate communication with othercomputing devices, such as passenger computing devices within thevehicle, and computing devices external to the vehicle, such as inanother nearby vehicle on the roadway or at a remote network. Thenetwork connections may include short range communication protocols suchas Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy (LE), cellular connections, as wellas various configurations and protocols including the Internet, WorldWide Web, intranets, virtual private networks, wide area networks, localnetworks, private networks using communication protocols proprietary toone or more companies, Ethernet, WiFi and HTTP, and various combinationsof the foregoing.

FIG. 2B illustrates a block diagram 240 of an example trailer. As shown,the system includes an ECU 242 of one or more computing devices, such ascomputing devices containing one or more processors 244, memory 246 andother components typically present in general purpose computing devices.The memory 246 stores information accessible by the one or moreprocessors 244, including instructions 248 and data 250 that may beexecuted or otherwise used by the processor(s) 244. The descriptions ofthe processors, memory, instructions and data from FIG. 2A apply tothese elements of FIG. 2B.

The ECU 242 is configured to receive information and control signalsfrom the trailer unit. The on-board processors 244 of the ECU 242 maycommunicate with various systems of the trailer, including adeceleration system 252 (for controlling braking of the trailer),signaling system 254 (for controlling turn signals), and a positioningsystem 256 (for determining the position of the trailer). The ECU 242may also be operatively coupled to a perception system 258 (fordetecting objects in the trailer's environment) and a power system 260(for example, a battery power supply) to provide power to localcomponents. Some or all of the wheels/tires 262 of the trailer may becoupled to the deceleration system 252, and the processors 244 may beable to receive information about tire pressure, balance, wheel speedand other factors that may impact driving in an autonomous mode, and torelay that information to the processing system of the tractor unit. Thedeceleration system 252, signaling system 254, positioning system 256,perception system 258, power system 260 and wheels/tires 262 may operatein a manner such as described above with regard to FIG. 2A. Forinstance, the perception system 258, if employed as part of the trailer,may include at least one sensor assembly 264 having one or more lidarsensors, sonar devices, radar units, cameras, inertial sensors, and/orany other detection devices that record data which may be processed bythe ECU 242 or by the processors 204 of the tractor unit.

The trailer also includes a set of landing gear 266, as well as acoupling system 268. The landing gear 266 provide a support structurefor the trailer when decoupled from the tractor unit. The couplingsystem 268, which may be a part of coupling system 236 of the tractorunit, provides connectivity between the trailer and the tractor unit.The coupling system 268 may include a connection section 270 to providebackward compatibility with legacy trailer units that may or may not becapable of operating in an autonomous mode. The coupling system includesa kingpin 272 configured for enhanced connectivity with the fifth-wheelof an autonomous-capable tractor unit.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram 300 of various systems of a passengervehicle. As shown, the system includes one or more computing devices302, such as computing devices containing one or more processors 304,memory 306 and other components typically present in general purposecomputing devices. The memory 306 stores information accessible by theone or more processors 304, including instructions 308 and data 310 thatmay be executed or otherwise used by the processor(s) 304. Thedescriptions of the processors, memory, instructions and data from FIG.2A apply to these elements of FIG. 3.

As with the computing devices 202 of FIG. 2A, the computing devices 302of FIG. 3 may control computing devices of an autonomous drivingcomputing system or incorporated into a passenger vehicle. Theautonomous driving computing system may be capable of communicating withvarious components of the vehicle in order to control the movement ofthe passenger vehicle according to primary vehicle control code ofmemory 306. For example, computing devices 302 may be in communicationwith various, such as deceleration system 312, acceleration system 314,steering system 316, signaling system 318, navigation system 320,positioning system 322, perception system 324, power system 326 (e.g.,the vehicle's engine or motor), transmission system 330 in order tocontrol the movement, speed, etc. of the in accordance with theinstructions 208 of memory 306. The wheels/tires 328 may be controlleddirectly by the computing devices 302 or indirectly via these othersystems. These components and subsystems may operate as described abovewith regard to FIG. 2A. For instance, the perception system 324 alsoincludes one or more sensors 332 for detecting objects external to thevehicle. The sensors 332 may be incorporated into one or more sensorassemblies as discussed above.

Computing devices 202 may include all of the components normally used inconnection with a computing device such as the processor and memorydescribed above as well as a user interface subsystem 334. The userinterface subsystem 334 may include one or more user inputs 336 (e.g., amouse, keyboard, touch screen and/or microphone) and various electronicdisplays 338 (e.g., a monitor having a screen or any other electricaldevice that is operable to display information). In this regard, aninternal electronic display may be located within a cabin of thepassenger vehicle (not shown) and may be used by computing devices 302to provide information to passengers within the vehicle. Output devices,such as speaker(s) 340 may also be located within the passenger vehicle.

A communication system 342 is also shown, which may be similar to thecommunication system 234 of FIG. 2A. For instance, the communicationsystem 342 may also include one or more wireless network connections tofacilitate communication with other computing devices, such as passengercomputing devices within the vehicle, and computing devices external tothe vehicle, such as in another nearby vehicle on the roadway, or aremote server system. The network connections may include short rangecommunication protocols such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy (LE),cellular connections, as well as various configurations and protocolsincluding the Internet, World Wide Web, intranets, virtual privatenetworks, wide area networks, local networks, private networks usingcommunication protocols proprietary to one or more companies, Ethernet,WiFi and HTTP, and various combinations of the foregoing.

Example Implementations

In view of the structures and configurations described above andillustrated in the figures, various implementations will now bedescribed.

In order to detect the environment and conditions around the vehicle,different types of sensors and layouts may be employed. Examples ofthese were discussed above with regard to FIGS. 1-2. The field of view(FOV) for each sensor can depend on the sensor placement on a particularvehicle. In one scenario, the information from one or more differentkinds of sensors may be employed so that the tractor-trailer or othervehicle may operate in an autonomous mode. Each sensor may have adifferent range, resolution and/or FOV.

For instance, the sensors may include a long range FOV lidar and a shortrange FOV lidar. In one example, the long range lidar may have a rangeexceeding 50-250 meters, while the short range lidar has a range nogreater than 1-50 meters. Alternatively, the short range lidar maygenerally cover up to 10-15 meters from the vehicle while the long rangelidar may cover a range exceeding 100 meters. In another example, thelong range is between 10-200 meters, while the short range has a rangeof 0-20 meters. In a further example, the long range exceeds 80 meterswhile the short range is below 50 meters. Intermediate ranges ofbetween, e.g., 10-100 meters can be covered by one or both of the longrange and short range lidars, or by a medium range Lidar that may alsobe included in the sensor system. In addition to or in place of theseLidars, a set of cameras (e.g., optical and/or infrared) may bearranged, for instance to provide forward, side and rear-facing imagery.Similarly, a set of radar sensors may also be arranged to provideforward, side and rear-facing data.

FIGS. 4A-B illustrate example sensor configurations and fields of viewon a cargo vehicle. In particular, FIG. 4A presents one configuration400 of lidar, camera and radar sensors. In this figure, one or morelidar units may be located in sensor housing 402. In particular, sensorhousings 402 may be located on either side of the tractor unit cab, forinstance integrated into a side view mirror assembly or extending fromthe roof of the cab. In one scenario, long range lidars may be locatedalong a top or upper area of the sensor housings 402. For instance, thisportion of the housing 402 may be located closest to the top of thetruck cab or roof of the vehicle. This placement allows the long rangelidar to see over the hood of the vehicle. And short range lidars may belocated along a bottom area of the sensor housings 402, closer to theground, and opposite the long range lidars in the housings. This allowsthe short range lidars to cover areas immediately adjacent to the cab.This would allow the perception system to determine whether an objectsuch as another vehicle, pedestrian, bicyclist, etc., is next to thefront of the vehicle and take that information into account whendetermining how to drive or turn in view of an aberrant condition.

As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the long range lidars on the left and rightsides of the tractor unit have fields of view 404. These encompasssignificant areas along the sides and front of the vehicle. As shown,there is an overlap region 406 of their fields of view in front of thevehicle. A space is shown between regions 404 and 406 for clarity;however in actuality there would desirably be overlapping coverage. Theshort range lidars on the left and right sides have smaller fields ofview 408. The overlap region 406 provides the perception system withadditional or information about a very important region that is directlyin front of the tractor unit. This redundancy also has a safety aspect.Should one of the long range lidar sensors suffer degradation inperformance, the redundancy would still allow for operation in anautonomous mode.

FIG. 4B illustrates coverage 410 for either (or both) of radar andcamera sensors on both sides of a tractor-trailer. Here, there may bemultiple radar and/or camera sensors in each of the sensor housings 412.As shown, there may be sensors with side and rear fields of view 414 andsensors with forward facing fields of view 416. The sensors may bearranged so that the side and rear fields of view 414 overlap, and theside fields of view may overlap with the forward facing fields of view416. As with the long range lidars discussed above, the forward facingfields of view 416 also have an overlap region 418. This overlap regionprovides similar redundancy to the overlap region 406, and has the samebenefits should one sensor suffer degradation in performance.

While not illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4B, other sensors may be positioned indifferent locations to obtain information regarding other areas aroundthe vehicle, such as along the rear or underneath the vehicle.

Example Scenarios

As noted above, there are various situations in which the self-drivingvehicle may transition between fully and semi-autonomous driving. Oneparticularly relevant scenario involves cargo transportation. Here, atruck or other vehicle may be traveling on highways or other roads in afully autonomous mode, but need to transition to a semi-autonomous modeas it approaches the destination. In some examples, the destination maybe a warehouse, depot, delivery center or service center. Thesedestinations may be specifically designed to receive multiple trucks orother large vehicles, with limited room to park or maneuver.

In one scenario, a cargo vehicle, such as a long-haul commercial truck,may spend a significant portion of the trip driving on freeways or otherroadways that permit fully autonomous driving. Once the cargo vehiclegets close to its destination, it may need to exit a freeway and takeone or more surface streets. In this scenario, upon exiting the freewaythe cargo vehicle changes from a fully autonomous driving mode where theonboard systems (see FIGS. 2A, 2B and 3) make all driving decisions to adifferent driving mode that is partially autonomous. In this partiallyautonomous driving mode, the onboard systems do not make all drivingdecisions. For instance, as illustrated in FIGS. 5A-B, cargo vehicle 502will follow a lead vehicle 504.

The lead vehicle 504 may be a car, cargo truck or other vehicle that isable to drive partly or entirely to the following vehicle's destination.Alternatively, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) such as a drone may beemployed in place of or in combination with the lead vehicle. Forinstance, when used in combination with lead vehicle, the UAV could actas an additional set of sensors, essentially assisting both the lead andfollow vehicles see where one or both may have a blind spot, e.g.,behind the trailer, or in some occluded areas. Here, the sensorinformation obtained by the UAV would be provided to the lead vehicleand optionally to any follow vehicles.

Before following the lead vehicle, the lead vehicle may need to beidentified and/or authenticated to the cargo vehicle (or vice versa).This can be done directly between the two vehicles. Alternatively, aremote system in communication with the cargo vehicle can assist withauthentication.

In one example, authentication may be accomplished via a remote systemthat the cargo vehicle is in communication with. For instance, the leadvehicle may send a request to a remote server for the cargo vehicle toenter a special “search for leader” mode and the remote server wouldpush this state down to the cargo vehicle. The lead vehicle may onlysend this command once it is in front of and ready to pilot the cargovehicle, e.g., including determining that it is able to drive to thecargo vehicle's destination. This state could be set up to last only fora short period of time (e.g., 1-10 seconds, or no more than 1 minute) sothat the cargo vehicle would not mistakenly identify any other vehicleas a lead vehicle. Another method of authenticating would rely on aremote operator or other aspects of the remote system to identify andmark a vehicle on the roadway as the lead vehicle, and remotely put thecargo vehicle in the “follow” mode to follow the lead vehicle. Here, forinstance, a remote operator may identify the lead vehicle on his or herdisplay screen and transmit information associated with the marked leadvehicle to the cargo vehicle. This information may include, e.g.,location coordinates, map data, imagery, vehicle-specific identifiers,etc.

In association with authentication, the lead vehicle may have a uniqueQR code or other identifier information such as a license plate numberrecognizable by the cargo vehicle's sensors such that whenauthentication is occurring, the lead vehicle (or a person in the leadvehicle) sends along that specific identifier information. This couldmake it highly unlikely or effectively impossible for the cargo vehicleto mistake any other vehicle for the lead vehicle.

FIG. 5A illustrates a first view 500, in which both the cargo vehicle502 and lead vehicle 504 are traveling along a freeway or other roadway.Authentication between the two vehicles may occur at a prearrangedlocation along the route, at a selected time, when the two vehicles arewithin line of sight or a predetermined distance of one another. FIG. 5Billustrates a second view 510, in which the lead vehicle has begun toexit the roadway along a path indicated by dashed arrow 512. The cargovehicle follows the lead vehicle as shown by dashed arrow 514.

The lead vehicle may or may not operate in an autonomous driving mode.For example, the lead vehicle may employ an in-vehicle (or remote) humandriver. Here, in one scenario human driven truck drivers may enroll in aprogram whereby they indicate they are willing to operate a lead vehicle(either in-vehicle or remotely), provide their destination, andpotentially be compensated for acting as a lead vehicle operator. Inanother example, the lead vehicle may be authorized to operate in anautonomous mode on the surface streets in a way that allows the truck tofollow it, even though the truck is not permitted or chooses not tooperate in a fully autonomous mode.

Multiple trucks may follow the lead vehicle. Here, authentication withthe lead vehicle may be required for each truck. Optionally, the secondor later-following truck(s) may identify or otherwise authenticate animmediately preceding vehicle, which may be another truck. For instance,multiple trucks could all authenticate through a common serverconnection. Each truck could send its pose information and confirm itsproximity to the truck in front of it. Here, each truck could continuefollowing the immediately preceding truck based on stored perceptionclassification modules.

As part of the follow the lead vehicle approach, the lead vehicle isresponsible for “clearing” the route, such as at intersections,difficult turns, railroad crossings, etc. to ensure the cargo vehicle isable to safely traverse the route. By way of example, the lead vehicle'sonboard systems (e.g., planning system) may store information about whatthe cargo vehicle needs to do to drive on the roadway. Here, the leadvehicle can effectively run two (or more) computer models to take intoaccount both itself and the following vehicle(s).

In one example, the lead vehicle could clear the area such that it knowsthe following vehicles will have enough time to maneuver behind itwithout the need for significant perception besides following the leadvehicle. For instance, the following vehicles would not need to useonboard sensors to identify or track other objects on or near theroadway. In another example, the following vehicles could all betransmitting their real-time state information to the lead vehicleeither directly or via a remote server. Thus, the lead vehicle will beable to determine how much time it will take each following vehicle tocross an intersection, and whether that time is sufficient given theother detected objects at or near the intersection.

The real-time state information for each following vehicle may include,e.g., location, speed and current pose. Such information may also oralternatively include cargo information, e.g., both the weight andnature of cargo, because this can influence the follow vehicle'sdynamics. Other state information may relate to a roadgraph of thesection of roadway of interest. This can include general roadgraphdetails, such as road pitch/incline, friction (in case of rain, or incase of unpaved roads). It may also include vehicle specific roadgraphdetails, e.g., lanes where trucks are not allowed, clearance (height),speed limits for trucks, etc. Some or all of the roadgraph stateinformation may be maintained in an onboard database of the lead vehicleand/or following vehicle(s), or it may be provided by a remote system tothe lead vehicle (and optionally to the following vehicle(s)) as needed.

The lead vehicle may also (primarily) handle the perception for itselfand the following vehicle(s). It is possible that in some situations,perception information may be passed from the following vehicle(s) tothe lead vehicle, or vice versa. This may happen, for instance, when oneor more sensors fail, the quality of the sensor data falls below somepermissible threshold, or an occlusion is detected.

When following the lead vehicle, the truck may employ a “close follow”mode, for example driving less than one vehicle length (or more or less)behind the lead vehicle. The truck can also stop or take othercorrective action should another vehicle or other object interposebetween the lead vehicle and itself. This may include pulling over orrequesting that the lead vehicle pull over, increasing the followdistance (e.g., from 1 vehicle length to 3 vehicle lengths or more),etc.

FIGS. 6A-C illustrate examples involving an intervening vehicle. Forinstance, FIG. 6A shows one illustration 600 where one cargo truck 602is following a lead truck 604. Here, a car 606 had pulled into the lanebetween the two truck. As shown in illustration 610 FIG. 6B, thefollowing truck 602 may use one or more of its sensors to obtain a fieldof view 612 that encompasses both the intervening car 606 and the leadtruck 604. Information from the field of view 612 may be passed as partof the state information to the lead vehicle 606, and one or both of thelead vehicle and the following vehicle may modify their drivingoperations based on this information. As shown in illustration 620 ofFIG. 6C, the lead truck 604 may employ sensors with fields of view 622 aand 622 b. Here, while these sensors may detect the following vehicle,they may have a blind spot directly behind the lead vehicle in theregion where the intervening car is location. In this case, informationprovided by the following vehicle (e.g., from the sensor FOV 612 of FIG.6B) can be supplied to the lead vehicle to supplement its perceptioninformation.

Information about a vehicle or its immediate environment may be passedto the lead or to the following vehicle, for instance by transmittingFOV information in the above examples. The information transmission maytake place directly between the lead and following vehicles, asillustrated in example 700 of FIG. 7A. This may be done via optical(e.g., lidar to lidar) communication or radio frequency communication.It may be desirable to minimize the amount of information passed betweenthe following truck and the lead vehicle. For instance, informationabout intervening vehicles, upcoming street signs, road surfaceconditions, etc. may be sent via a wireless communication link (e.g.,cellular, Bluetooth™, or lidar communication). The amount of informationpassed may vary depending on the type of following truck and/or leadvehicle, network access/bandwidth availability, etc.

In addition to communicating by passing data directly between thevehicles, the lead vehicle may communicate an upcoming turn or otherdriving action via visual or other messages. This may include a maneuverfor the planned trajectory, such as an indication of braking, or evenhow hard the lead vehicle will brake. For instance, as shown in FIGS.7B-D, specific shapes or patterns may be presented. As shown by view 710of FIG. 7B, one or more directional arrows or other objects may beflashed on a rear door or other portion of the lead vehicle. As shown byview 720 of FIG. 7C, information can be displayed on a sensor housing.And as shown by view 730 of FIG. 7D, the information may be projectedonto the roadway surface. In any or all of these cases, the informationmay be presented visually either optically or via infrared signaling.Each of these may be performed along or in conjunction with one another.Alternatively or optionally, information may also be communicated toother nearby vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians to indicate thelead-follow relationship or request that other vehicles slow down, etc.

Once the truck has arrived at the depot or other destination, eitherwith or without the assistance of a lead vehicle, it will need to park.FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate two examples 800 and 810, respectively,showing a truck parking at a loading bay of a warehouse or other depot.The specific parking location (e.g., a dock or loading bay) may beassigned to the truck or the truck may select it based on, e.g.,available of spaces, size of the maneuvering area, size of the vehicle,sensor visibility, a detailed map of the depot, and possibly otherfactors. For instance, during hot temperatures (e.g., in excess of90-100 degrees), it may be desirable to restrict the amount of time thevehicle spends in the heat or in direct sunlight as this could affectsensor operation. Therefore, the system may select a loading dock thatis located in the shade. In addition, the depot or other facility maywant to minimize situations where people are walking around in the areawhere autonomous trucks are located, or vice versa. Thus, docks locatednear the entrance/exit of the building might be restricted forautonomous trucks based on certain times of day, certain speeds,limitations on types of truck based on sensor fields of view orocclusions at the facility, etc.

Even though a truck may be configured to operate in a fully autonomousmode for general driving purposes, it may not have sensors positioned onthe trailer. For instance, the tractor may be able to operate fullyautonomously with a legacy trailer that does not include any sensors.However, sensors positioned on or around the cab of the tractor may nothave sufficient visibility to permit fully autonomous docking at thedepot. Thus, according to one aspect of the technology, a combination offeatures is employed. This combination uses remote assistance, camerasand/or other sensors at the dock, and highly accurate 3D maps of thedepot.

In one scenario, there may be standard “reversing” lanes marked into theroadgraph at the depot that the truck can follow. Here, one or morecameras or other sensors (e.g., lidar, radar and/or sonar sensors) arepositioned at the docking area to assist with pulling into a spot. Inthis case, once the cameras or other sensors detect any moving object intheir field of view, the camera system (e.g., a perception system at thedepot) will notify the truck to stop and wait until the object has movedaway. Object detection can include machine learning algorithms or,optionally, remote assistance can watch the camera feeds of the dockingarea. A human remote assistant can also instruct the truck to stop untilthe object has cleared the area.

In addition to this, a remote assistant can draw an augmented trajectoryfor the truck to follow as it backs into the allotted space. Theaugmented trajectory and/or road graph would be based on a known map ofthe dock area, which includes both the dock parking area and amaneuvering area that are within an overall apron space. Thisinformation is transmitted to the vehicle, and the planning system orother onboard system can be used to maneuver the truck to the dock'sloading platform. In this case, if an obstruction appears in the truck'spath, for example due to a pedestrian or forklift traversing themaneuvering area, the remote assistant may revise the augmentedtrajectory. While this is happening, the truck will stop or repositionitself to avoid the obstruction.

In addition, according to another aspect of the technology, perceptionalgorithms can be run on the images or other data obtained by thedepot's cameras or other sensors. The perception algorithms can detecttypes of objects (e.g., people, forklifts, etc.) and that informationmay be used when creating the road graph or augmented trajectory. Andaccording to a further aspect, reflective paint or markers (e.g.,reflective for detection by optical or infrared cameras or othersensors) may be placed on the ground to help visually guide the truckinto the dock.

As discussed above, the on-board system of a given vehicle maycommunicate with another vehicle (lead vehicle or one or more followingvehicles), and/or may communicate with a remote system such as remoteassistance. One example of this is shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B. Inparticular, FIGS. 9A and 9B are pictorial and functional diagrams 900and 950, respectively, of an example system that includes a plurality ofcomputing devices 902, 904, 906, 908 and a storage system 910 connectedvia a network 916. The system also includes vehicles 912 and 914, whichmay be configured the same as or similarly to vehicles 100 and 150 ofFIGS. 1A-B and 1C. Vehicles 912 and/or vehicles 914 may be part of afleet of vehicles. By way of example, vehicles 912 are cargo vehiclescapable of following a lead vehicle 914 while operating in asemi-autonomous driving mode. Although only a few vehicles and computingdevices are depicted for simplicity, a typical system may includesignificantly more, such as dozens or hundreds.

As shown in FIG. 9B, each of computing devices 902, 904, 906 and 908 mayinclude one or more processors, memory, data and instructions. Suchprocessors, memories, data and instructions may be configured similarlyto the ones described above with regard to FIG. 2A.

The various computing devices and vehicles may communication via one ormore networks, such as network 916. The network 916, and interveningnodes, may include various configurations and protocols including shortrange communication protocols such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, theInternet, World Wide Web, intranets, virtual private networks, wide areanetworks, local networks, private networks using communication protocolsproprietary to one or more companies, Ethernet, WiFi and HTTP, andvarious combinations of the foregoing. Such communication may befacilitated by any device capable of transmitting data to and from othercomputing devices, such as modems and wireless interfaces.

In one example, computing device 902 may include one or more servercomputing devices having a plurality of computing devices, e.g., a loadbalanced server farm or cloud-based system, that exchange informationwith different nodes of a network for the purpose of receiving,processing and transmitting the data to and from other computingdevices. For instance, computing device 902 may include one or moreserver computing devices that are capable of communicating with thecomputing devices of vehicles 912 and/or 914, as well as computingdevices 904, 906 and 908 via the network 916. For example, vehicles 912and/or 914 may be a part of a fleet of vehicles that can be dispatchedby a server computing device to various locations. In this regard, thecomputing device 902 may function as a dispatching server computingsystem which can be used to dispatch vehicles to different locations inorder to pick up and deliver cargo or provide other services. Inaddition, server computing device 902 may use network 916 to transmitand present information to the vehicles regarding a lead-follow process,depot parking, ingress or egress, etc. The server computing device 902may also use network 916 to communicate with a user of one of the othercomputing devices or a person of a vehicle, such as a driver of a leadvehicle. In this regard, computing devices 904, 906 and 908 may beconsidered client computing devices.

As shown in FIG. 9A each client computing device 904, 906 and 908 may bea personal computing device intended for use by a respective user 918,and have all of the components normally used in connection with apersonal computing device including a one or more processors (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU)), memory (e.g., RAM and internal harddrives) storing data and instructions, a display (e.g., a monitor havinga screen, a touch-screen, a projector, a television, or other devicesuch as a smart watch display that is operable to display information),and user input devices (e.g., a mouse, keyboard, touchscreen ormicrophone). The client computing devices may also include a camera forrecording video streams, speakers, a network interface device, and allof the components used for connecting these elements to one another.

Although the client computing devices may each comprise a full-sizedpersonal computing device, they may alternatively comprise mobilecomputing devices capable of wirelessly exchanging data with a serverover a network such as the Internet. By way of example only, clientcomputing devices 906 and 908 may be mobile phones or devices such as awireless-enabled PDA, a tablet PC, a wearable computing device (e.g., asmartwatch), or a netbook that is capable of obtaining information viathe Internet or other networks.

In some examples, client computing device 904 may be a remote assistanceworkstation used by an administrator or operator to communicate withvehicles operating in an autonomous mode, drivers of lead vehicles, orpassengers as discussed further below. Although only a single remoteassistance workstation 904 is shown in FIGS. 9A-9B, any number of suchworkstations may be included in a given system. Moreover, althoughoperations workstation is depicted as a desktop-type computer,operations works stations may include various types of personalcomputing devices such as laptops, netbooks, tablet computers, etc.

Storage system 910 can be of any type of computerized storage capable ofstoring information accessible by the server computing devices 902, suchas a hard-drive, memory card, ROM, RAM, DVD, CD-ROM, flash drive and/ortape drive. In addition, storage system 910 may include a distributedstorage system where data is stored on a plurality of different storagedevices which may be physically located at the same or differentgeographic locations. Storage system 910 may be connected to thecomputing devices via the network 916 as shown in FIGS. 9A-9B, and/ormay be directly connected to or incorporated into any of the computingdevices.

Storage system 910 may store various types of information. For instance,the storage system 910 may also store autonomous vehicle controlsoftware which is to be used by vehicles, such as vehicles 912 or 914,to operate such vehicles in an autonomous driving mode as describedabove. Storage system 910 may store various types of information asdescribed in more detail below. This information may be retrieved orotherwise accessed by a server computing device, such as one or moreserver computing devices 902, in order to perform some or all of thefeatures described herein.

For instance, storage system 910 may store real-time state information,received sensor data from one or more vehicles, roadgraph data (e.g.,including augmented trajectory information), driving regulationinformation for different jurisdictions, detailed vehicle models fordifferent vehicles in a fleet, etc.

As discussed above, vehicles may communication with remote assistance inorder to initiate lead-follow situations (e.g., includingauthentication) and to assist with parking a vehicle at a depot,warehouse, etc. For instance, should a cargo vehicle determine that itneeds to transition from a fully autonomous mode to a following drivingmode, it may send a query and/or data to remote assistance to identifyand/or authenticate a lead vehicle. And when arriving at a depot, thecargo vehicle may request a roadgraph of the facility and/or an assignedspot at which to dock.

In a situation where there is a driver or passenger in the vehicle, thevehicle or remote assistance may communicate directly or indirectly withthat person's client computing device. Here, for example, informationmay be provided to the person regarding the current driving mode,actions being taken or to be taken, etc.

FIG. 10A illustrates an example 1000 of a method of performing alead-follow operation. Here, at block 1002 a lead vehicle is identifiedthat the vehicle of interest is able to follow. The identification maybe done directly between the lead and follow vehicles, e.g., usingvisual or RF-based communication at a selected point along the roadway,or via a third party such as a remote assistance service that identifiesone or more possible lead vehicles.

At block 1004, an authentication process is performed for the leadvehicle. As noted above, this can be done directly between the twovehicles. Alternatively, a remote system in communication with the cargovehicle can assist with authentication. By way of example the leadvehicle sends a request to a remote server for the cargo vehicle toenter a “search for leader” mode, in which the remote server sends thisinformation to the cargo vehicle. Alternatively, the remote system maymark a vehicle on the roadway as the lead vehicle. Here, the remotesystem may cause the cargo vehicle to enter the “follow” mode to followthe lead vehicle.

At block 1006, the following operation (mode) is initiated. Forinstance, the computer system of the cargo vehicle causes the drivingsystem to perform one or more follow operations in accordance withdetected or received information about the lead vehicle. At block 1008,a signal from the lead vehicle is detected, e.g., by one or more sensorsof following vehicle's perceptions system or by its perception system.Here, the signal relates to an upcoming driving maneuver that is to beperformed by one or both of the lead and/or following vehicles. And atblock 1010, the driving system of the following vehicle is controlledbased on the detected signal and information received from a perceptionsystem of the following (and/or lead) vehicle.

FIG. 10B illustrates another example 1050 of a method of performing alead-follow operation. Here, at block 1052 the destination for anothervehicle is obtained. This may be done via direct communication between apotential lead vehicle and a following cargo vehicle, or via a thirdparty such as a remote dispatch service that receives destinationinformation from a cargo vehicle and passes it onto one or morepotential lead vehicles. At block 1054, the lead vehicle begins aleading operation by controlling the driving system of the lead vehicleto proceed toward the destination along a route. This may be done in afully or partially autonomous driving mode, or done in response tomanual control of the lead vehicle by a human driver.

At block 1056, a signal is generated about an upcoming driving maneuverto be performed. The upcoming driving maneuver may be for the followingvehicle, an action to be taken by the lead vehicle, or both. Upongeneration, at block 1058 the signal is emitted for perception by one ormore sensors of the following vehicle. As noted above, the signal may becommunicated directly between the lead and following vehicles viaoptical or RF communication. The amount of information passed by thesignal may vary depending on the type of following and/or lead vehicles,network access or bandwidth availability, etc.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example 1100 of a method of assisting parking avehicle, such as an autonomous cargo vehicle, at a depot or otherdestination (e.g., parking facility). At block 1102, sensor informationis received from a perception system of the autonomous cargo vehicle,for instance as it pulls into a loading dock area. At block 1104, thesystem selects a parking location for the autonomous cargo vehicle at aparking facility. The selection may be based on one or more factors,including number of available loading bays, vehicle size, type of cargo,volume of traffic at the facility, etc.

At block 1106, the system receives a live feed of imagery from one ormore sensors of the parking facility. This can include optical and/orinfrared cameras, lidar, radar or other sensors. At block 1108, thesystem obtains a roadgraph of the parking facility. The roadgraphprovides a path for the autonomous cargo vehicle to arrive at theselected parking location. And at block 1110, the system uses theroadgraph and live feed of imagery to assist a driving system of theautonomous cargo vehicle to drive to the selected parking location in anautonomous driving mode.

Unless otherwise stated, the foregoing alternative examples are notmutually exclusive, but may be implemented in various combinations toachieve unique advantages. As these and other variations andcombinations of the features discussed above can be utilized withoutdeparting from the subject matter defined by the claims, the foregoingdescription of the embodiments should be taken by way of illustrationrather than by way of limitation of the subject matter defined by theclaims. In addition, the provision of the examples described herein, aswell as clauses phrased as “such as,” “including” and the like, shouldnot be interpreted as limiting the subject matter of the claims to thespecific examples; rather, the examples are intended to illustrate onlyone of many possible embodiments. Further, the same reference numbers indifferent drawings can identify the same or similar elements. Theprocesses or other operations may be performed in a different order orsimultaneously, unless expressly indicated otherwise herein.

1. A vehicle configured to operate in an autonomous driving mode, thevehicle comprising: a driving system including a steering subsystem, anacceleration subsystem and a deceleration subsystem to control drivingof the vehicle in the autonomous driving mode; a perception systemincluding one or more sensors configured to detect objects in anenvironment external to the vehicle; a communication system configuredto provide wireless connectivity with one or more remote devices; and acontrol system including one or more processors, the control systemoperatively coupled to the driving system, the communication system andthe perception system, the control system being configured to: identifya lead vehicle to follow; authenticate the lead vehicle; begin afollowing operation by controlling the driving system in accordance withdetected or received information about the lead vehicle; detect a signalfrom the lead vehicle about an upcoming driving maneuver; and controlthe driving system based on the detected signal and information receivedby the perception system.
 2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein detectionof the signal is performed by the perception system.
 3. The vehicle ofclaim 1, wherein the control system is further configured to takecorrective action upon detection by the perception system of anintervening object between the vehicle and the lead vehicle.
 4. Thevehicle of claim 3, wherein the corrective action includes eitherpulling over or increasing a following distance with the lead vehicle.5. The vehicle of claim 3, wherein the corrective action includesrequesting that the lead vehicle pull over.
 6. The vehicle of claim 1,wherein the control system is further configured to transition from afully autonomous driving mode to a following mode in order to performthe following operation.
 7. The vehicle of claim 1, whereinidentification of the lead vehicle includes the control system receivinga request from a remote system to search for the lead vehicle.
 8. Thevehicle of claim 7, wherein the received request includes informationidentifying the lead vehicle.
 9. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein thecontrol system is configured to authenticate the lead vehicle at aprearranged location along a route, at a selected time, when the leadvehicle is within line of sight to the vehicle, or when the lead vehicleis within a predetermined distance of the vehicle.
 10. A vehiclecomprising: a driving system including a steering subsystem, anacceleration subsystem and a deceleration subsystem to control drivingof the vehicle; a perception system including one or more sensorsconfigured to detect objects in an environment external to the vehicle;a communication system configured to provide wireless connectivity withone or more remote devices; and a control system including one or moreprocessors, the control system operatively coupled to the drivingsystem, the communication system and the perception system, the controlsystem being configured to: obtain a destination for another vehicle;begin a leading operation by controlling the driving system to proceedtoward the destination along a route; generate a signal about anupcoming driving maneuver; and emit the generated signal for perceptionby one or more sensors of the other vehicle.
 11. The vehicle of claim10, wherein the control system is further configured to perform aclearing operation to clear a section of the route for safe passage ofboth the vehicle and the other vehicle.
 12. The vehicle of claim 11,wherein the control system is further configured to determine that theother vehicle is able to perform the upcoming driving maneuver within adetermined amount of time.
 13. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein theleading operation is performed in an autonomous driving mode.
 14. Thevehicle of claim 10, wherein the leading operation is performed uponreceipt of a control signal from a remote system.
 15. The vehicle ofclaim 10, wherein the control system is able to perform anauthentication operation with the other vehicle.
 16. The vehicle ofclaim 15, wherein the control system is configured to send a request toa remote server for the other vehicle to enter a search for leaderprocess.
 17. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein, prior to generation ofthe signal about the upcoming driving maneuver, the control system isconfigured to obtain real-time state information about the othervehicle.
 18. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein, prior to generation ofthe signal about the upcoming driving maneuver, the control system isconfigured to obtain a roadgraph for a section of roadway along theroute.
 19. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the control system isconfigured to use the perception system to handle perception operationsassociated with the other vehicle during the leading operation.
 20. Thevehicle of claim 10, wherein the control system is configured to receiveperception data from the other vehicle during the leading operation.